Biomimicry

Agriculture Article C.C.

Nov 15, 2013

Per 4

        Biomimicry uses solutions found in nature to solve human problems. Careful observation of how nature puts waste to use and never leaves a valuable resource behind has been a trailblazer for efficiency and sustainability in architecture and manufacture. Keeping an eye out in our world will help humans solve problems for years to come. (Pawlyn, 2011)

        One of the biggest examples of the cycles that nature uses to solve problems, can be seen in garden ecosystems that are self-sustaining. Plants were designed to survive without interference, so why change a system that has been tested for eons? Rainwater is part of a large Earth-centered cycle. Rather than waste water from the tap, use the same water that plants naturally use! Once the plants are mature, instead of buying new seeds every year, use the ones the plants already provide. The best part of garden cycles is using waste parts of plants as the foundation for new life, through composting and mulching. Previously useless plant waste is redistributed to build a framework for new life.

          Of course, humans have been inspired by nature in other ways. Solar panels, for example, combined nature’s idea and man’s engineering to harvest great amounts of energy from the sun by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity. This imitates how plants use photosynthesis to convert energy from light into chemical energy for the plant. (Carter, 1996) The plants available in the garden space at Avanti use this same technique, absorbing solar energy and using it as a catalyst for sugar production. Solar panels employ the same idea seen in the leaves of plants to generate renewable energy for anywhere!

There’s no doubt the Earth is a “smart” system. After millions of years of testing and evolution, we humans see plants that have adapted to their environment in crazy ways. As problems for us get more complicated, we should consider that life forms similar to us faced those same problems, and came out on top. We should be inspired by the achievements of nature.

Sources:

Pawlyn, M. (Performer) (2011). Using nature's genius in architecture [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_pawlyn_using_nature_s_genius_in_architecture.html

Carter, J. S. (1996). Photosynthesis. Retrieved from http://biology.clc.uc.edu/courses/bio104/photosyn.htm